Producers from South Korea, and the Far East (Singapore, etc.) are churning out the best 16- and 20- chapter mini-series on the planet at present, and, if you dig on Netflix, you will find them. All themes are covered, particularly in the mystery and law-enforcement lines. Unriddle is another entry. We were delighted with the first season and are ready to tackle the second.
Unlike Hollywood, who aim to produce a sitcom or a crime series that will go multi seasons, in the Far East, they use the Brit approach, which is to create a show with unconventional twists for one season by scripting short movie type episodes (40 to 70 minutes). The story quality stays high, and the possibilities are endless, since one of the heroes of the story may not survive, giving the scriptwriter more freedom to develop a complex theme.
Unriddle (Unravel might have been a better name) tells the tale of a group of investigators with the Singapore police who are pursuing several lines of inquiry. Initially, a gang is smuggling in girls to serve in brothels, but one of the gang, an over-sized tomboy named Bun, breaks ranks to join with pretty Detective Hu Xiaoman as a paid informant. This smart cop and streetwise hustler make a good team. Plots overlap and intermingle, but the main plot involves a group of officers who recover a large sum of unaccounted-for money, and decide to split the profits. A falling-out occurs and the money disappears. Years later, one of the gang is a supervisor and potential love-interest for (major babe) Hu Xiaoman. He disappears, and one-by-one, the original gang bites the dust. Is it the supervisor, stepping out of character, to sneak back & take the gang out?
That is just one of the plot-lines pursued in Season one of the series. When reviewing other series of this kind, I caution readers to book lots of free time to binge-watch these things. Although this one had a few 'draggy' moments, generally the stories move along quite nicely. Performances and camera-work are great. I should have been able to 'sort' this whodunit, after reading so many Agatha Christie novels, but I must confess: this one bamboozled me completely, but in a delightful way.
Unlike Hollywood, who aim to produce a sitcom or a crime series that will go multi seasons, in the Far East, they use the Brit approach, which is to create a show with unconventional twists for one season by scripting short movie type episodes (40 to 70 minutes). The story quality stays high, and the possibilities are endless, since one of the heroes of the story may not survive, giving the scriptwriter more freedom to develop a complex theme.
Unriddle (Unravel might have been a better name) tells the tale of a group of investigators with the Singapore police who are pursuing several lines of inquiry. Initially, a gang is smuggling in girls to serve in brothels, but one of the gang, an over-sized tomboy named Bun, breaks ranks to join with pretty Detective Hu Xiaoman as a paid informant. This smart cop and streetwise hustler make a good team. Plots overlap and intermingle, but the main plot involves a group of officers who recover a large sum of unaccounted-for money, and decide to split the profits. A falling-out occurs and the money disappears. Years later, one of the gang is a supervisor and potential love-interest for (major babe) Hu Xiaoman. He disappears, and one-by-one, the original gang bites the dust. Is it the supervisor, stepping out of character, to sneak back & take the gang out?
That is just one of the plot-lines pursued in Season one of the series. When reviewing other series of this kind, I caution readers to book lots of free time to binge-watch these things. Although this one had a few 'draggy' moments, generally the stories move along quite nicely. Performances and camera-work are great. I should have been able to 'sort' this whodunit, after reading so many Agatha Christie novels, but I must confess: this one bamboozled me completely, but in a delightful way.
